As the former SEC for the ARRL Southern New Jersey Section for 28 years,
I preached and encouraged professionalism for ARES/RACES operators and
organizations if they had any hopes of being taken seriously and
respected by their served-agency officials. This included, but was not
limited to, clean hygiene, neat clothes and a serious, subservient but
competent & professional attitude.
I would advocate for that same philosophy when it comes to the redraw of
the symbol set. Please steer clear of designs that would look
cartoonish, silly or immature. I know the smaller pixel sizes like
16x16 are difficult to render an accurate icon, but I guess that's why
this project is best tackled by folks who know what they're doing and
have the drive to do so. I tried it and it became clear why I never
went into the graphic design arts!
Related to the above is the selection of symbols for your station and
its purpose for being on-the-air. APRS isn't a Monopoly game. You don't
get to pick your symbol as a game piece. The symbol(s) should represent
the primary purpose of your station to enable all others to know why its
there, especially for served-agency officials who will look at our
map(s) for a quick visual status.
Be professional. We practice in preparation for the "real thing". Have fun!
Flame suit on! 73.
Boyd Prestwood, K5YKG
Ex W2HOB now living quietly out of the main stream near Houston, TX!